Restoration of Voting Rights for Certain
Ex-Felons in Alabama - Law and ProcessFrom the League of Women Voters of Alabama August 21, 2005

In
2003, the Alabama Legislature amended the 1975 Code of Alabama (state
law) to provide for an ex-felon, with exceptions, who has fulfilled all
sentence requirements to have his or her voting rights restored. Here
is information about this law and how to get a Certificate of
Eligibility to Register to Vote. See in this document:

Conviction of a felony does not always result in the loss of one's eligibility to vote. Read this opinion issued by the Alabama Attorney General.
It specifies the types of felonies that result in a loss of the right
to vote and underwhat conditions that right may be restored.

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AL Legislative Act Providing for Restoration of Voting Rights

Act
2003-415, HB3 was passed in the 2003 2nd special session of the Alabama
Legislature (on Sept. 25, 2003) to provide for the restoration of
voting rights by certain ex-felons. The act "...provide[s] a procedure
for the restoration of eligibility to register to vote of former
probationers, parolees, and inmates who have satisfactorily completed
conditions of their sentence."*

(a)
Any other provision of law notwithstanding, any person, regardless of
the date of his or her sentence, may apply to the Board of Pardons and
Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote if all of
the following requirements are met:

(1)
The person has lost his or her right to vote by reason of conviction in
a state or federal court in any case except those listed in subsection
(g).

(2) The person has no criminal felony charges pending against him or her in any state or federal court.

(3) The person has paid all fines, court costs, fees, and victim restitution ordered by the sentencing court.

(4) Any of the following are true:

a. The person has been released upon completion of sentence.

b. The person has been pardoned.

c. The person has successfully completed probation or parole and has been released from compliance by the ordering entity.

(b)
The Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote shall be granted
upon a determination that all of the requirements in subsection (a) are
fulfilled.

(c)
Upon receipt of an application under this section, investigation of the
request shall be assigned forthwith to an officer of the state Board of
Pardons and Paroles. The assigned officer shall verify, through court
records, records of the board, and records of the Department of
Corrections, that the applicant has met the qualifications set out in
subsection (a). The officer shall draft a report of his or her findings
and make a recommendation concerning whether the offender has
successfully completed his or her sentence and has complied with all
the eligibility requirements provided in subsection (a).

(d)
After completing the investigation set out in subsection (c), the
officer shall submit his or her report of investigation and
recommendation to the Executive Director of the Board of Pardons and
Paroles, who shall refer the report and recommendation to a senior
staff member to determine whether the applicant has met the
qualifications set out in subsection (a).

(e)
Upon the senior staff member's completion of his or her review of the
report and recommendation and a determination that all eligibility
requirements of subsection (a) have been met, he or she shall file a
report with the Executive Director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles
stating whether or not all of the criteria for obtaining a Certificate
of Eligibility to Register to Vote have been met. Within 45 days of the
date of the initial application for a certificate under this section,
the executive director shall make the reports and recommendations
available to the members of the board for review and if, within five
days, no objection is made by a board member on the basis that the
criteria set out in subsection (a) have not been met, the executive
director shall issue a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote
to the applicant; provided, however, that the 45-day requirement in
this sentence shall not apply for the first 90 days following September
25, 2003. Upon determination by the senior staff member that any of the
criteria have not been met, the applicant shall be notified of the
reasons the Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote will not be
issued and that upon satisfaction of all outstanding requirements, a
new request may be submitted by the applicant.

(f)
In the event a board member objects to the issuance of a Certificate of
Eligibility to Register to Vote on the basis that the criteria set out
in subsection (a) have not been met, the matter shall be referred to
the next hearing docket of the board, without regard to any other
provision of law affecting the setting of a hearing date, for the board
to determine whether the applicant has met the criteria established by
subsection (a). In the event the board determines, by a majority vote,
that the criteria have been met, the executive director shall forthwith
issue a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote to the
applicant. Upon a determination by the board that the criteria have not
been met, the applicant shall be notified of the reasons the
Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote will not be issued, and
that upon satisfaction of all outstanding requirements, a new
application may be submitted by the applicant.

(g)
A person who has lost his or her right to vote by reason of conviction
in a state or federal court for any of the following will not be
eligible to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote
under this section: Impeachment, murder, rape in any degree, sodomy in
any degree, sexual abuse in any degree, incest, sexual torture,
enticing a child to enter a vehicle for immoral purposes, soliciting a
child by computer, production of obscene matter involving a minor,
production of obscene matter, parents or guardians permitting children
to engage in obscene matter, possession of obscene matter, possession
with intent to distribute child pornography, or treason.

(h)
This section shall not affect the right of any person to apply to the
board for a pardon with restoration of voting rights pursuant to
Section 15-22-36.

This office has two procedures in place at this time [August, 2004] to restore the rights of ex-felons.

1.) Full Pardon

A
MI pardon can be granted if an individuals sentence is complete or he/
she has completed three consecutive years of successful parole. The
full pardon would restore all civil and political rights forfeited by a
felony conviction. This is a very lengthy process that can take
anywhere from six months to a year and a half to complete, just
depending on the case and the information that is needed and also the
backlog of the pardon unit at the time the request is made.

To
begin the Pardon process, the individual may contact this office and
make an application over the telephone. After the application has been
taken, I will send a copy of the request to the District Supervisor
over the Probation and Parole office in the county which your client
resides. The District Supervisor will then assign the pardon request to
one of the officers in that county and the officer will contact the
applicant. This officer will contact the applicant and conduct an
interview. He will then begin the investigative process. A background
check will be conduct to ensure that we have all the charges needed to
include on the pardon. If a disqualifying charge is not included on a
pardon certificate, the pardon is basically no good. A DNA sample may
be required, if so, the officer will instruct the client on how this
will be conducted. We are required by Law to have a DNA sample on file
before the Pardon can be granted.

Once
the interview process has been completed, the officer will send the
necessary information back to the Pardon Unit in Montgomery. An Officer
will then review the file to ensure that we have all the necessary
information to set the hearing. This step of the process may be lengthy
at times for the simple fact; we only have two officers here in the
office who reviews those files. After the case is review it is set for
a hearing in front of the Parole Board.

We
will send out notices to notify the applicant and the appropriate
officials that there will be a hearing held. If the convictions were
not violent cases, then the applicant will be notified 30 days prior to
the hearing. If the convictions were violent offenses, then, by law, we
are required to give 60 days notice so that any victims can be notified.

The
Hearing is an open-public hearing, which means anyone who wants to
attend the hearing may attend. The Parole Board will look over the
file. If the applicant is present, they may give him a chance to speak
on his behalf. If he is not present, they will make a decision based on
the information in the file. Either way, the Board will make a decision
at the hearing and the applicant will be informed as to whether the
Pardon was granted are denied.

The
board can grant a full pardon, which will restore all Civil and
Political Rights, but they can also grant a partial pardon. The Board
has the right to put any restriction they wish, on the pardon. Here is
a list of restrictions:

Gun Rights - Your client will not be allowed to ship, transport, possess or receive any firearms.

Habitual
Offender- If the Individual is convicted again of a felony, then the
courts could use the conviction on the pardon towards convicting the
individual as a Habitual Offender. This restriction is on every basic
pardon now.

Community
Notification- If the Conviction was a sex offense, then the Board can
grant a Pardon but apply this restriction to the pardon. If this
restriction is applied, then the applicant is still under the rules and
regulations of the Community Notification Act.

Restitution-
If this restriction is added to the pardon then the applicant is still
under obligation to pay any and all restitution and court costs that
have not been paid.

Any and all of these restrictions can be added to a pardon.

2.) Voter Right Restoration

This
request, if granted, would restore only the voter rights of the
individual. The requirements for this procedure are as follows:

The individual's sentence must be complete.

All court costs, restitution , fines and fees must be paid in full

The individual could have been convicted any sex offense or a murder charge.

This
process normally takes just a 45 days, again depending on the backlog
of the Pardon Unit at the time the application is made.

If
this individual meets the above state requirements, they can contact
this office and an application can be taken. The application is then
sent to a District Supervisor and that Supervisor will then assign it
to the Probation and Parole Office in the County in which the
individual resides. That Probation Officer will then complete the
paperwork which indicates that the individual has met the above state
requirements. The officer will forward this paperwork to the Pardon
Unit.

Once
the paperwork is received in the Pardon Unit, it is assigned to an
officer in the Pardon Unit to review and it is processed. Once the
paperwork has successfully been processed, the individual will be sent
a Certificate of Voter Rights Restoration. The subject is then given
the opportunity to continue with the Full Pardon Process.

If the individual would like to send the necessary information to our office we need the following information;